India’s best states

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Taking a page from inane metro surveys in the U.S., India Today just published its third annual ranking of best Indian states to live in (thanks, Razib). Comparing cities would’ve been just as inaccurate, but much more entertaining. Subscription required, but here’s the raw data (XLS).

A big balle balle! for the breadbasket state, proving that tractors beat coders, at least for now. Gujarat is tops in economic freedom (XLS), Kerala in education (XLS), Bengal ranking surprisingly low.

Large States

  1. Punjab
  2. Kerala
  3. Himachal Pradesh
  4. Tamil Nadu
  5. Haryana
  6. Maharashtra
  7. Gujarat
  8. Karnataka
  9. Uttaranchal
  10. Jammu & Kashmir
  11. Andhra Pradesh
  12. Rajasthan
  13. West Bengal
  14. Madhya Pradesh
  15. Chhattisgarh
  16. Assam
  17. Uttar Pradesh
  18. Orissa
  19. Jharkhand
  20. Bihar

Small States

  1. Goa
  2. Delhi
  3. Pondicherry
  4. Mizoram
  5. Sikkim
  6. Arunachal Pradesh
  7. Manipur
  8. Nagaland
  9. Tripura
  10. Meghalaya

Union Territories

  1. Chandigarh
  2. Andaman & Nicobar Islands
  3. Daman & Diu
  4. Lakshadweep
  5. Dadra & Nagar Haveli

98 thoughts on “India’s best states”

  1. my punjabi is not good,

    but sadi tarti sona thi, sadi…um wait, i can’t really even say it

    anyway, i love punjab. five rivers baby

  2. Tamil Nadu No. 4. I like to think we are the Seattle of India. Except without the cool weather, grunge music, trees and people of Northern European descent. But we do have rain. It would be No. 1 if it weren’t for the Tamils.

    huh?

  3. potential Punjabi boys who speak malayalam? be still my pounding heart. now if they had tried to arrange me with THAT… 😉

  4. I reckon’ if we were going to add SL into the mix it would go between 2 and 4 or 4 and 11. As the ancestries of Northern SLns comes from Kerala, and those of Southern SLns comes from Andhra Pradesh.

    I don’t think any of the states between 2-11 would be so happy of us bumping them of the spot.

    Oh well.

  5. Reminds me of a study in some mag last year about how South India is developing much faster than the the other parts of the country, in terms of quality of life, wealth creation, civil rights, education etc. Apparently the gulf between the per-capita income of the Southern States and the other regions combined is widening fast. Just adds to our every-time-we-get-a-few-beers-in-us sentiment that South India would do very well as a country, with Blore as the capital. And hey, we want Goa too. Where else would all the Mallu guys go to get drunk and ogle at female tourists?

  6. sri lanka would have been far and away #1 if it wasnt for the stupid war

    and sri lankan tamils dont come from kerala specifically, more likely tamil nadu, but neither existed back then anyway

    anyway, does it mention the method in the article?

  9. The alleged freedom struggle in kashmir has no basis. If at all there is freedom struggle, it should be in Bihar and I hope biharis launch a freedom movement and get out of india.

  10. Ananthan…

    We SL’s are more associated with tamils from Kerala than we are from Tamil Nadu. In terms of language, pronunciation and tone. Our food is also much more similar to that of Malayalees than that of Chennai.

    Legend says that when Christianity was being spread in Kerala, that 3 ships full of tamil hindus were headed back to madras when they landed upon the tip of Sri Lanka and landed there.

    Prior to that there was the legend of Vijayan the prince that was exhiled from Tamil Nadu/Andhra area to Sri Lanka.

    There is ties to both. But you are right if it wasn’t for the war… we would have placed high with education and standard of living.

  11. Yay for Kerala. I don’t know how Punjab beat them though…seriously. Education, social justice, healthcare, long life expectancy. Maybe if we could do something about that pesky economy (which fuels the suicide rate), then we could be a first world country.

    Maybe it was based on food. Give be some of that dhaba food over coconut milk and fish anyway.

  12. Communism = Harthals and Bandhs = sucky Economy = high suicidal rates. Also the Mallus are too proud to do blue collar work in Kerala.

  13. Poor Bihar.

    Well, if there’s anything this survey proves, it’s that India Today has access to a random number generator 🙂

  14. Namaskaram ANNA.
    Enthokkeyaanu vishesham?
    Ninakku enne ishtamaano?
    OK, Poy varatte!
    xXx

    0 M G Becky.

    i think i’m in lowe. 😀

  16. Back then they didn’t want me, now I’m hot they all on me.

    Go Punjab!

    Mike Jones aka Punjab-da-Puttar

  17. Ofcourse Trichur should be kerala capital, considering its pretty much the culural capital anyway. I mean we have the cockney malayalam game on lock. Innocent is the illest actor bar none. And not to even mention the double hit combo of the Trichur pooram and Guruvayur ambalam ? We sing when we speak and we walk with a small limp.

  18. I really dont know what to say….

    Bengal is a worse place to stay than J&K?Rajasthan?Himachal? Gawd…dont even talk about some of the others..

    I am at IIM Lucknow…know first hand how to get desired results from manipulated data..i challenge the authors to present the data in Public..lets see their sampling methodology, their analysis algos..

    bloody hell…a state that hasnt seen a single comunal riot since independence, with the lowest crime rate, fourth largest consumer market–where the lower castes dont get their huts burned and their women raped at the slightest provocation as they do in Haryana..is the 13 th best place to live in??

    have spent 24 years of my life in Bengal, spent 2 more years travelling all around India..chennai, hyd, mumbai, delhi, bangalore..u name it, i have been there. nowhere have i found ppl who are so friendly and courteous..so poltically aware, so less given to cut each others throats. where did these morons learn statistical analysis from?? seriously…when i see all this, i do believe there is some malicious design in the mainline media to portray Bengal is the worst light possible..

    to bloody hell with them. I have personal experience to bank on, dont need morons advice abt where to live.

  20. Punjab,Himachal and Kerala can in no way be compared to the states like Tamil Nadu,Maharastra and Andra pradesh. kerala and himachal are not even half of what Maharastra is. For states like Maharastra,Tamil Nadu,Andra Pradesh to maintain such a good living condition inspite of the fact that it houses such a huge population by itself is a stupendous achivement ….something which can not be compared with chotomota state like kerala.

    i feel the list should read 1) tamil nadu 2) maharastra 3) karnataka 4) andra pradesh 5)madhya pradesh .

    With due respects, Midget states like kerala should be given ranking along with equal sized ‘kanchies’ of north eastern states.

    Besides Kerala can not even be mentioned in comparison with the other three bigger southern states interms of IT exports that they have achived last year. Kar – 15,000 cores AP – 12,000 crores TN – 7,000 crores
    MH – 5,500 crores Kerala – a meger 500 crores    . Thats why i wonder what the dwarf is doing in big states ranking ..stats says it all!

  22. Vaibhav seems to be lacking General Knowledge. You need to do lot of reading to grow in life. I am proud to be be a Keralite. And how can you compare Kerala with smaller states? In each and every yearly budget, kerala gets neglected; but damn we dont need anyones help to grow. Kerala is a state which has been proposed as a Role model by the United Nations in terms of living standards. I dont know where Vaibav is from but go to the remote areas in Karnataka, AP, MP….etc; you will know what poverty is, what Illiteracy is……..inspite of these states getting all major share from the Central Government.

    Now speaking about smaller states, why did not Goa, Nagaland….etc surpass Kerala in all fronts, if size really matters. Vaibhav, be more practical in life and look around. Life in India is not Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkatta. Go to the interiors to find the real state of our ‘States’. In that front Kerala is far better than any other states. Thank you Vaibhav.

  23. even though everyone in india thinks sardar ji’s don’t have brain. but still punjab is richest and number one state of india. and don’t forget the breadbasket of inidia….I’m Proud of our Sardars and being a punjabi.

  24. The Sikh and Punjabi Hindus had a huge contribution in the freedom struggle. sikhs are only 2% of the population of india. but the indians killed in the alrocities by british were 2125 and 1550(73%) were sikhs. and out of 2646 indians sent to kale pani 2147 (80%) were sikhs.127 indians sent to gallows had 92(80%) sikhs. and in indian liberation army out 20,000 ranks and officers 12000 (60%) were sikhs. and out of 121 people alughtered during the freedom strugle 73 (60%) were sikhs. and don’t ferget the Jalianwala Bagh massacar. SHaheed Udham singh took the revenge of Jalian wala bagh after 21 years. must read his story. IF YOU LOVE INDIA, LEARN TO SACRIFICE LIKE THE SIKHS. [ JO BOLE SO NIHAL, SAT SRI AKAL]

  25. Haryana, himachal and chandigarh are also former parts of punjab and you can see the rankings of these states. if they were one. punjab would have won by a very very huge differnce.

  26. hi i am from delhi i dont know where v are lacking but I am sure we will be ranked as 1st position in just 2 years no not two yaers just after 1 year n really it sounds gud that Punjab continously ranked as 1st position

  28. andhra pradesh has come up to 11 th position. even though it has just passed the rankings.

    the condition of the sttate is better today. as a decade back andhra pradesh stoop behind bihar,mp,u.p.

    but today a.p has grown up in all sectors.

    good days for ap.

    soon we hope the state comes to top 5 positions. at the same time all states should compete with each other in development and try to make india a developed nation.

    jai india.india zindabad.

    jai telugu thalli. “desa baashalandu telugu lessa(goppa).

  29. i feel so all the south indian states are fairing well. t.n,kerala nad karnataka.

    of course we should appreciate andhrapradesh,even thought the state is in the 11 th position,it has made efforts to reach that position.

    since ap is a vast state it has always been lagging and 20 yeras back it was one of the poorest states in india,but today it is fairing well and has come up.

    if same development goes in ap,the state will become the no 1 state in india ,under the leadership of dr. y.s rajasekhara reddy.

    the state today is largest producer of rice. it rules in information technology.

    hyderabad the city of urdus and telugus is emerging as a world class city.

    visakapatnam is a lovely city and fastest growing city in asia and is emerging as a investment destination for many MNCs .

    andhra pradesh stands next to kerala in attracting national and international tourists.

    andhra pradesh has many holy places (tirupati),modern(hyderabad) places to attract national as well as international tourists.

    the city of visakhapatnam has become as must visiting city for its attractive tourist spots like the beaches,bora caes and many many spots.

    IIT is coming up in andhra pradesh. anshra pradesh is now one of the fastest grwoing states in india.

    the state govt. is taking steps to balance the state in both agricultural and industrial sectors.

    by the fast growth of andhra pradesh the sttae will stand behind punjab,kerala,tamilnadu in development.

    all indian states should have a healthy competeition between them in attracting investments.

    andhra pradesh also has controlled the naxals in the sttae.

    i request india today to take into consideration ion all sectors and rank the states for the next near. hope so andhra pradesh will go futher forward in its ranking.

    Maa telugu thalliki mallepoo dhanda. Maa kanna thalliki mangalarathulu.

    jai hind,jai hindustan.

  30. KERALA rox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no matter what…………………………………….

  31. keral should be no.1 No other state in india can beat keralitesssssssssssssssssssss

    KERALA#1 KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

    KERALA#1

  32. I DONT KNOW WHAT CRITERIA FOR ALL THESE RANKINGS, I JUST WONDER HOW PANJAB IS BETTER THAN KERALA….

    TO BE HONEST I SUPPORT KERALA 100% in terms of tourism,literacy,development,law and order,Better living conditions and much more….

    Not only kerala all southern states are doing much better than other part of the country, Government should do something to develop other states. Then our india will be the best country…

    BHARATH MATHA KI JAY JAY HINDUSTANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

  33. Vaibav why you said kerala should included in smaller states??? Just visit kerala then you will understand how big is kerala hhhmm haa, Dont see the land size ok, if we had more land like your state then you can see the Biggest development like bangalore,delhi,bombay etc. in kerala hhhhh

  34. Its really nice seeing Tamilnadu coming up in the ranking…. Tamilnadu should come on the top coz it really worth it.

  36. bihar is no 1 state in india. bihari are no 1 in all the sence than others. all viewers whose coments on bihar are weak personalites. so start respect to bihar from today. otherwise let’s fight with bihari.

  37. bihar is no 1 state in india. bihari are no 1 in all the sence than others. all viewers whose comments on bihar are weak personalites, so start respect to bihar from today, otherwise ready to fight with bihari.

  38. kush tandon, desidudeinaustin

    with the likes of u, hard to see why india fails to stand united. shame on u for slamming at goa. we may not follow delhi’s motto of rob & rape all after eight but hope u’ll approve of us in time. As for feni, chillum & nude beaches, hard to understand why its only u tourists who end up half naked & puking all the way home to beloved delhi.

  39. It has to be Kerala or Punjab as these are the only states in India where every village has road, electricity, telephone and water facilities unlike other states where u have 2-3 big cities while its villages reassemble the medieval age.

  40. It makes perfect sense why Punjab is number one. It is considered to have the best infrastructure in India (even the smallest villages have electricity and roads). And it’s much more than a breadbasket. It does well in education too (you’ll find more than half of Indian nobel prize winners were from Punjab). It has the lowest poverty rate in the country – Kerala, for example, has a very high poverty rate. It is, as everyone knows, the highest income-earning state in the country, per capita wise. Nonetheless, the Punjabis are an intelligent and brave people (most indians abroad are also from this state, even though it is only 2% of India).

    Congrats, Punjab. P.S. I am not Punjabi myself.

  41. EAST OR WEST TAMIL NADU IS THE BEST. I AM REALLY SURPRISED, WHY THEY GAVE FOUR INSTEAD PF 1. PROUD TO BE TAMILIAN,.

  42. India Need These State To feed 75 % poors.

    Real Ranking.

    1. Tamil Nadu : Independ Socio-Economy,Have Ability to act seperate Country. quality of life, 2nd hightest Tax Payer,2 Best Film Ins..,
    2. Maharashtra : Direct indian Govt access Socio-Economy. Quantity to produce and fed india.

    3. Punjab : without this state poor North indian die for food.

    4. west bengal : industry fuel.

  43. kerala deserves to be at the top.kerala is not a poor state.its the only state where we can see big bungalows even in rural areas.kerala is almost 100% electrified and well connected.kerala produce best brains in the country thanks to the literacy rate(eg.E Sridharan of delhi metro,Ms Swaminathan man behind green revolution,Madhavan Nair ISRO chief etc etc).You can see benz cars even in rural areas in kerala.Its also the land of spices and rubber which yields high income.

  44. rly : nabeel kerala produce best brains in the country thanks to the literacy rate(eg.E Sridharan of delhi metro,Ms Swaminathan man behind green revolution,Madhavan Nair ISRO chief etc etc).

    don’t give wrong informations:

    sridharan – he is tamil ,worked in southeren railways from tamil Nadu. Ms Swaminathan – tamil,his argi-center in tamil nadu . kasturirangan & kalam – tamils , inventor of PSLV,GSLV.

  45. Simple Indian – Make ur facts clear.

    Sridharan – Born on 12 June 1932 in Palghat district, Kerala. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Sreedharan) DR.K.KASTURIRANGAN – Born on October 24, 1940, Ernakulam (Kerala), India.(http://www.isro.org/kranga/biodata_krangan.htm) Madhavan Nair – Bornon 31 October 1943(1943-10-31)Thiruvanathapuram, India. (http://www.isro.org/mnair/index.htm)

    U r right about M.S. Swaminathan. He is born in Tamil NAdu and his ancestral home is Allepey, Kerala.

    This is just to make the facts clear. This does’nt mean that all that are born in Kerala are brilliant.

  46. According to me Tamil nadu is fast devolping state in India together with Gujrath. Hope it will beat other states evenif there are many internal problems. At the same time we should not compare with same small states. Tamil nadu produces many things and devolping infrastructures in these years. And it does not worry about other currency to lead life. If we go abraod the state will come up or not? we have to think all the peoples and give them high oppertunities. Once kerala was the best now it slow in progress in many field only in education is ok and even till what… only high schools.But they are investing money in other parts rather than in kerala. They think of tourist but only few people. They have to create many IT centres.Like other neibouring state. it is better to uplift the people tranforming the structure inside rather than going outside. Kerala has lot of potentialities but they are not using only think of immigration. It is not good for state income.

  47. kerala deserve the first place…living style of kerala is much more higher than any other cities…kerala is neat and clean..not like tamilandu..

  48. I wonder how AP would fare today if the dumbasses got their demand and had Telangana and Rayalaseema separated from Andhra…